A top U.S. Army official admits they're having problems attracting new recruits.
Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo says despite the challenges, they will not lower their standards. Instead, they're reducing the total number of active-duty Army members to 473,000 over the next two years. If that happens as planned, it would be the Army’s smallest size since World War II. National security analyst Edward Turzanski says there are lots of reasons why young people are walking away. The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan cause some to question the Pentagon's competence under President Biden.
“We had forward-deployed military, and we left citizens behind in Afghanistan,” Turzanski said. “I think that’s the sort of thing that keeps people up at night.”
He says government vaccine mandates and a more “woke” political agenda doesn't help either.
“You’re more concerned about me getting the jab, about what pronoun we’re going to use, about designing flight suits for pregnant people, can’t even say ‘women,’” Turzanski explained. “I think all of that has a corrosive effect.”
The Army isn't the only branch of the military facing recruiting problems. The Air Force's numbers are also reportedly falling short.